Highlanders argued that the incident leading to the penalty occurred outside the box, a claim corroborated by video evidence showing that the contact between Tinashe Balakasi and Peter Muduhwa took place well beyond the 18-yard line. 

The ZIFA Referees Committee suspended the two match officials for poorly handling, with Ngosana being found wanting on two aspects of officiating — “proximity to the incident and angle of viewing.”

ZIFA Referees Committee chairman Norman Matemera declined to comment on Gwezera’s suspension.

A retired referee, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Herald that the match could have been salvaged if the match commissioner had discreetly reviewed video evidence of the incident and discussed it with the officials involved. Said the retired referee:

The match could have been saved with the referee correctly awarding that team a free-kick outside the box and sending off the Highlanders defender for denying an obvious scoring opportunity.

I am surprised that Gwezera did not exercise his authority by demanding that Ariel Sibanda go to the Bosso goal for the penalty to be taken.

If he was adamant that he would not take his position, Gwezera should have issued him a first yellow card, and after that a second that would have seen him leave the pitch.

He would have waited then to see the Highlanders’ reaction whether they would bring on another goalkeeper to replace Sibanda.

Perhaps he feared that he had already erred and hence could not take further action.

Meanwhile, Highlanders could face a ban from participating in next season’s Chibuku Super Cup. The rules and regulations state that “if a team refuses to continue playing or leaves the stadium or field of play before the end of the match, that team shall be banned from participating in the next edition of the Chibuku Super Cup.”

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